The Supreme Court is weighing whether or not the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is constitutional based on how it receives its funding. Last fall a panel of three Trump appointees on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals outlined that if funding for a federal agency like the CFPB is not appropriated annually by Congress, then everything that agency does is deemed unconstitutional. While the agency's fate is in limbo, its latest initiative is aimed at cracking down on junk fees that can cost A...
Mar 02, 2023•12 min
Raghavan Iyer built his career helping Americans get to know the fundamentals of Indian cooking. Now, after years of treatment for aggressive cancer, he has released what he says will be his last book. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Raghavan Iyer, about the book, "On The Curry Trail: Chasing the Flavor That Seduced the World." In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz...
Mar 01, 2023•13 min
Margaret Elysia Garcia tried hard to rebuild her life in Greenville, California after it was devastated by a wildfire in 2021. But the difficulty of life there — power outages, mud slides, razed streets she could barely recognize — eventually it all became too much. She left her home there and moved to Southern California. Jake Bittle's new book, The Great Displacement: Climate Change And The Next American Migration, argues that stories like this are becoming more common. From drought-hit farms ...
Feb 28, 2023•12 min
The Environmental Protection Agency says tests have not shown any contamination of air or drinking water linked to the train derailment near East Palestine, Ohio. But residents in the area still have safety concerns. NPR's Ari Shapiro asks EPA Administrator Michael Regan about those concerns and about the agency's response to the disaster. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org ...
Feb 27, 2023•10 min
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley's call for mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 seemed like a direct challenge to President Joe Biden, who is 80. But she could have been referring to the other announced candidate in the race: former President Donald Trump, who is 76. Or other high ranking leaders over the age of 75 - Senators Mitch McConnell and Bernie Sanders, both 81. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is 89, but the oldest sitting member of Congress, by a few...
Feb 25, 2023•16 min
Kherson was the the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russian troops. With deep historical ties to Russia, it was not expected to be a center of resistance. But an army of citizen spies defied Moscow's expectations, and helped Ukrainian forces liberate the city last November. A year after Russia launched its invasion, NPR's Joanna Kakissis has the story of Kherson's partisans: teachers and accountants and landscape designers, who became eyes and ears for the Ukrainian military. In participat...
Feb 24, 2023•15 min
There are a lot of different Advanced Placement history courses out there: art history, European history, U.S. history. Now, after a decade in development, there finally is an AP course focused on African-American studies. The course hasn't official launched yet, but it's currently being piloted in 60 schools across the U.S. The course has drawn national attention after controversies erupted over what is, and isn't, in the curriculum. We ask three educators who are teaching the course what they ...
Feb 23, 2023•15 min
For people who have not experienced it, life in prison can seem unimaginable. So reporters who have themselves been incarcerated can offer an important perspective when covering the prison system. NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Lawrence Bartley, host of the new series Inside Story , which documents life in the US prison system. The series was created by formerly incarcerated people, and aims to reach audiences both inside and outside the system. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local ...
Feb 22, 2023•11 min
This week marks one year since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022. And in the past year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has undergone a dramatic political transformation. Zelenskyy got his start as a comedian who played an accidental president on TV. He was then elected president in real life, only to see his popularity slump. Now, after a year of war, he is widely considered an icon of democracy. NPR's Frank Langfitt takes a look at how Zelenskyy became the kind of leader he is...
Feb 21, 2023•13 min
The Sierra Club has been at the forefront of the American environmental movement for decades. However, the group has also face criticism for racist and exclusionary attitudes embedded in some of its founding ideals. The Sierra Club's new executive director, Ben Jealous, explains how he aims to advance the group's climate goals, while also reckoning with that past. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us...
Feb 20, 2023•8 min
We're approaching a year since Russian leader Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, a conflict that has resulted in thousands of dead civilians and over eight million refugees. Along with sending billions of dollars in military aid to Ukrainian forces, the US has responded with a wide range of sanctions meant to cripple Putin's war machine, targeting Russian banks, finances, oil, and Russia's billionaire oligarchs. But as the war continues, critics are asking just how effective the sanctions have been...
Feb 18, 2023•15 min
"This kind of dissent? It doesn't go away." That's what NPR heard from a 20-year-old woman on the street in Tehran. Mary Louise Kelly and a team of producers traveled there last week to see what life looks like, and what remains of the protests that shook the country for months, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Amini died in police custody after being detained, reportedly for improperly wearing a headscarf, part of Iran's strict dress code for women. Human rights groups say the r...
Feb 17, 2023•14 min
The derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3rd sparked fear and uncertainty among residents. They are still concerned, almost two weeks later. NPR's Ailsa Chang talks to Stan Meiburg, former acting deputy administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, about the agency's response and what authorities should focus on in order to prevent accidents in the future. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense...
Feb 16, 2023•10 min
A total of four high-flying, balloon-like objects have been shot down by US fighter jets this month. Officials have still not said where three of them came from. The United States claims the first one was a Chinese surveillance balloon, which China denies. But American officials have made no definitive statement as to what the other three could be, nor has anyone come forward to claim ownership. NPR correspondents Scott Detrow and Greg Myre share what they've learned about the mysterious flying ...
Feb 15, 2023•13 min
Sales of romance novels were up in 2022, with a surge of about 52 percent for sales of print copies, according to Publishers Weekly. That's despite an overall dip in book sales last year. Still, there's a longstanding social stigma against romance novels, as they're often written off as frivolous, or even shameful. NPR's Juana Summers visits a group of readers who are loud and proud about their love for the genre. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make s...
Feb 14, 2023•11 min
One week since arriving in southern Turkey after massive back-to-back earthquakes hit the region, our correspondent recounts what she has seen in seven days of covering the tragedy in Turkey and neighboring Syria. NPR's Ruth Sherlock traveled from Lebanon soon after the quakes hit, and has since reported from both Turkey and Syria. She says thousands of people in both countries are living versions of the same nightmare. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you ...
Feb 13, 2023•14 min
Haiti, a country long besieged by political turmoil, was plunged further into chaos in 2021 when then president Jovenel Moïse was assassinated. Today, gangs run large swaths of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Schools and businesses have shuttered, food, water and gas shortages have spiraled, and Haitians desperate to leave the country have overrun immigration offices hoping for a passport. Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been the de facto ruler since Moïse's assassination. There have not been...
Feb 11, 2023•15 min
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly is on the ground in Iran, where she spoke directly with Iranians about their grievances against the regime. She later put some of those grievances to Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, during a rare in-person interview in Tehran. You can hear more of NPR's interview with Iran's Foreign Minister, on whether Iranians can freely voice their ideas, here . In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on ...
Feb 10, 2023•14 min
Negotiating a purchase at a car dealership can be a stressful experience. But once you sign the deal and drive away, the car is yours right? Not necessarily. NPR's Chris Arnold breaks down how some dealerships engage in a practice called a "yo-yo car sale" that can entrap people in bad deals. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community. Email us at considerthis@npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our ...
Feb 09, 2023•11 min
President Joe Biden's State of the Union address seemed like business as usual, until one of Biden's remarks drew loud boos from some Republican lawmakers. We ask two House freshmen – Democrat Maxwell Frost of Florida and Republican Mike Lawler of New York – what they made of that moment and how they think the two parties could work together in a narrowly divided Congress. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community....
Feb 08, 2023•11 min
Communities in northern Syria and southeastern Turkey are struggling in the aftermath of Monday's devastating earthquake and its powerful aftershocks. NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports on ongoing rescue efforts in the region. And we speak with Gönül Tol, director of the Turkey program at the Middle East Institute, who is in Hatay province in Turkey. She raises questions about the Turkish government's response to the tragedy. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you m...
Feb 07, 2023•9 min
China and the US were supposed to hold diplomatic talks over the weekend. Instead they sparred over a Chinese balloon that entered American airspace before it was shot down. Where do relations between Washington and Beijing go from here? This wasn't the first time a Chinese surveillance balloon flew into into U.S. airspace. NPR's Greg Myre talks us through past incidents. Then we speak with Jessica Chen Weiss, a professor of China and Asia Pacific Studies at Cornell University, about where U.S. ...
Feb 06, 2023•15 min
Football is the most watched sport in the US - and one of the most profitable. The NFL reported that last year, the Super Bowl was watched by two-thirds of Americans. But for some, the popularity and success of the sport are overshadowed by its continuing problems around race - from its handling of players kneeling in protest against the killing of unarmed Black people, to lawsuits over racially biased compensation for concussed Black players, to the NFL's inability –or is it unwillingness?--to ...
Feb 04, 2023•14 min
More than three years since the start of the COVID pandemic, infectious disease experts are studying other viruses with pandemic potential. Their goal is to understand how pandemics begin and how they can be prevented. This is the focus of the NPR series "Hidden Viruses: How Pandemics Really Begin." In this episode, NPR's Ari Daniel takes us to Bangladesh, where researchers studied a dangerous virus called "Nipah" and how it spreads. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segmen...
Feb 03, 2023•15 min
The Memphis Police Department has disbanded its special SCORPION unit, after five of the unit's officers were involved in the death of Tyre Nichols. But similar units are still operating across the U.S. Specialized police units are often created after a spike in crime, as officials come under pressure to do something about it. The units often operate with little oversight and develop a reputation for using aggressive tactics. We speak with journalist Radley Balko, author of "Rise of the Warrior ...
Feb 02, 2023•10 min
Pamela Anderson has had an incredibly rich, and varied, career. She's an actress, the author of several books, and a prominent activist - especially for animal rights. But many people still see her primarily as a sex symbol, the archetypal "blonde bombshell." In a new memoir titled "Love, Pamela", Anderson takes control of the narrative, telling her story in her own words. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community....
Feb 01, 2023•13 min
Signs of a forthcoming recession seem to be everywhere: from grocery stores, where food prices are soaring, to Fortune 500 companies, where workers are being let go by the thousand. Survey after survey shows fears of recession are high. And if one does come, navigating the downturn can be tricky. NPR's Arezou Rezvani shares advice from economists and personal finance experts on how to prepare for a potential recession. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you m...
Jan 31, 2023•15 min
While some countries are seeing their populations decline and grow older, others are growing fast. That has economic implications. Could migration help? NPR's Emily Feng reports on the long term consequences of China's shrinking population. We also hear from Lant Pritchett, research director with the think tank Labor Mobility Partnerships, about the ways in which migration could help tackle population imbalances. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make se...
Jan 30, 2023•13 min
Americans have grown accustomed to hearing about the latest mass shooting. And recently news coverage has been focused on two tragic events in California — Last weekend eleven people were killed and nine injured in Monterey Park near Los Angeles. And on Monday, seven people were killed and one wounded in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco. In the past 72 hours alone, seventy-one people were killed and 114 were injured by shootings in different incidents all across the country - including...
Jan 29, 2023•15 min
Five police officers have been charged with murder and other crimes in the wake of Tyre Nichols' death this month in Memphis. Nichols, who was Black, died after a traffic stop. All five of the officers facing charges are Black. Since the deaths of George Floyd in 2020 and so many others, many police departments have vowed to diversify their forces as a way to help end police brutality and racism within their ranks. But does diversity in a police force make a difference? And what more can be done...
Jan 27, 2023•13 min
